GUEST POST by Jennifer Matusiak
I wish I could say I'm happy that Drew
and Rhy asked me to write this post. I'm happy that there's some
small part of this tragedy that I can take on for them but I don't
think anyone could be anything but horrified at the subject.
It's recently come to light that the
ashes Bakshi presented to Rhy as belonging to Johnny, ashes for which
Bakshi demanded additional payment, may not have been Johnny's at
all. In fact, they are, in all likelihood, wood ashes.
I realize this is a bold, and
terrifying, statement. The idea that someone could be so heartless
as to lie to a grieving mother about the ashes of her child is beyond
the comprehension of most of us. So far beyond that I bet some of
you reading this will not only question my sanity, but the science.
A lot of things can be debated, but
scientific facts aren't one of them.
Fact: After cremation (open-air or
electric) the ashes and pieces of bone are pulverized to a fine powder. This occurs both in the
United States and in India.
I'm not sure why the authenticity of
Johnny's ashes came into question and, ultimately, it doesn't really
matter. Upon inspection of the ashes there are, quite obviously,
small bits of wood mixed in with the ash.
Fact: In order for wood to be
completely turned to ash, it needs to be held at temperatures between 1100-1500 degrees Fahrenheit
for 2-4 seconds.
Fact: In order to be reduced to "ash" (with some bits of bone) a human body must be held at temperatures between 1400-1800 degrees
Fahrenheit for 2-3 hours. These temps and times are standard for electric cremation
chambers.
Knowing these facts, how could Johnny's
ashes contain bits of wood (large enough to see with the naked eye)
if he was, in fact, cremated in an electric crematory as Bakshi
claims?
Aside from the fact that wood isn't
used in an electric crematory (so how could it be in Johnny's ashes?)
it only takes 2-4 seconds to reduce wood to ash. It would have
taken far longer to cremate Johnny's body, as tiny as it was, even
accounting for the small overlap in necessary temperatures. So, had
there for SOME reason been wood in the chamber, it would have been
ashed.
There is no possible way for there to
be identifiable pieces of wood in human ashes.
The unfortunate and horrible conclusion
I was forced to make and present to Rhy was that the ashes she paid
for could not possibly have been Johnny's. They can't be human,
even.
THIS is what cremains should look like.
A fine sandy texture as opposed to a
powder. This is because cremains aren't ashes, as such. The ashes presented as Johnny's are, quite obviously, just that. Wood ash.
Given the circumstances surrounding the
entire issue (which Rhy has discussed previously) my conclusion is
that Bakshi disposed of Johnny's body (either in the river, in the
trash or “donated” to medical students for dissection) as she saw
fit, without asking his parents what they preferred. Then, when
they requested some small token of remembrance from their son (a lock
of hair, a footprint) she realized her stupidity. After expressing
their desire to have their son cremated she likely seized that
opportunity to hide her idiocy, presenting ashes from a wood fire to
Rhy and claiming they belonged to her son.
Unethical. Deceitful. Reprehensible.
